ARIZONA STATE FOOTBALL

Only one mark matters to Arizona State: The 4-0 record

Sep 27, 2016, 8:30 AM | Updated: 11:24 am

Arizona State linebacker Salamo Fiso, right, celebrates his interception with De'Chavon Hayes durin...

Arizona State linebacker Salamo Fiso, right, celebrates his interception with De'Chavon Hayes during the second half of an NCAA college football game against California, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, in Tempe, Ariz. Arizona State won 51-41. (AP Photo/Matt York)

(AP Photo/Matt York)

TEMPE, Ariz. – With winning comes recognition. National recognition.

The Arizona State Sun Devils, who at 4-0 are off to their best start in nine years, just missed out on a national ranking in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls. They received 135 and 94 votes, respectively, putting them just outside the Top-25.

In addition, for their efforts against Cal, sophomore quarterback Manny Wilkins was named to the Davey O’Brien “Great 8” quarterback list; senior kicker Zane Gonzalez earned both a Lou Groza “Star of the Week” honor and Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week for the second straight week; and redshirt senior defensive back Laiu Moeakiola was listed as a nominee for the Week 4 Lott Impact Player of the Week.

All well and good. Head coach Todd Graham, however, is only focused on the won-loss record.

“He’s a 4-0 quarterback, so he’s done well,” he said, referring to Wilkins, adding later when asked about his defense, which statistically ranks among the worst in the country, “The great thing is we’ve been able to learn and get better and be 4-0.”

Getting to 5-0 will be a challenge, Graham admitted during this weekly Monday press conference.

The first Saturday in October sees the Sun Devils travel to Los Angeles for a game against Southern California. Through the season’s first four games, the Trojans sit at the bottom of the South Division with already two conference losses included in their 1-3 start.

“Their record is not indicative of what type of team they are,” Graham said.

EXTRA POINTS

— Against Cal, Gonzalez booted seven of his 10 kickoffs for touchbacks. On the season, better than 80-percent of his kickoffs (30-of-37) have sailed into the end zone, putting opposing offenses at their own 25-yard line to begin drives.

“He just got in the weight room and trained and got so much stronger. Man, the power that he has—he’s worked his tail. I’ve never seen anybody work and be able to develop that at that level,” Graham said. “It improved dramatically. He improved his kickoffs 15-20 yards, that’s pretty remarkable and that’s a huge luxury for us to have the kickoffs going out of the end zone.”

— Too many mistakes are being made defensively, according to Graham. ASU ranks dead last in the conference and tied for 120th nationally in total defense, giving up 499 yards a game. Meanwhile, the pass defense continues to struggle. No team is worse in either the conference or the country in defending the thrown ball, allowing an average of 404 yards.

“Obviously, we’ve played some really, really powerful offenses, that’s contributed to it,” Graham said, referring to Texas Tech and Cal. “(But) when you got to make a play, when you got to make a stop, our guys have risen to the occasion. We need to play a complete game.”

— Despite those numbers, Graham had high praise Monday for defensive backs coach T.J. Rushing, who is in his first season at ASU after spending 2015 as a defensive assistant for Stanford.

“He’s done a great job, and it’s great to have somebody that I’m comfortable with,” Graham said. “He played in the NFL for five or six years. He brings a lot there, and it’s just different with the players. He’ll be a guy that will be a secondary coach and eventually a defensive coordinator and a head coach one of these days. He’s got that kind of character and that kind of leadership.”

— It is unknown whether or not ASU will have junior linebacker Christian Sam available for its first conference road test of the season. Sam missed his third straight game and is still dealing with an ankle injury he suffered against Northern Arizona.

“He was getting better last week,” Graham said. “We’re hoping that he’ll be ready to go this week. I don’t know, though.”

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